Oil-burning apparatus



C. M. COLVIN OIL BURNING APPARATUS Jan. 28, 1930.

Filed Deo.18. 1925 2 sneewsnee: 1

@iff/2,55 6,52'

Jam-28, 1930. c. M. coLvlN 1,744,825

v OIL BURNING APPARATUS y Filed Dec. 18. 1925 2 sheets-sneer -2 /7-165565: K @wen' Patented Jan. 28, 1930 CHARLES M. comma, oFjWiLMnrTE, ILLINOIS Application mela December 18,?192'51' serial No. 7615308.VA

`'My invention -relates to oil burning ap,- paratus Vand has among its yother objects the production of apparatus ofthe kind described Vwhich is compact, convenient, durable,`

55 eiicient and satisfactory for use Wherever found applicable.' v

'A particularfobject 'of the yinvention is to provide improved `apparatus -or continuousy mixing liquid'yfueland air'in definite pro- Another particular obj ect of the invention 'is to provide oil burningapparatus having improved construction fior insuring a sufficient jsupply of oxygen for the'iiame.

"One form of the `invention is embodied in azheating unit'comprising-a hot air furnace, a 'tank for `holdingl liquid I fuel, motor driven oil and air pumps, and a ioat chamber, which, with .the'exception Aof an oilv inlet, an lair inlet,

i 2.0 andan outlet for mixing oil and air is substantially air tight, the/outlet being connectedv to .a :nozzle 4which projects into the iire pot of the vfurnace in'su'ch manner `that/flame 'issuing Jfroml yits V'flame oriice passes' ythe posterior ends Voi? 'passages' provided 'in the `fire 4pot and causes :air to be Vvdiavvnfthrough them from the` space 'beneath the fire pot.,y f

`Many other objectsiandadvantages of the Ik constructionherei'n shown andfdescrib'edwill '30 be obvious to'thoseskilledin theart froinfthe disclosure herein given;

.Tol this end my invention' consists fin the construction, arrangement and combination of parts herein shown and described, kand more particularly pointed out in the claims. f In the drawingsfvvherein like reference characters indicate like or lCorrespending ,'parts.:v c Vf' c Y Fig.- l`r isa'n lelevationof oil lburning apparatus embodying the invention;v

' Fig. 2 is a section Ytaken Online A2-1-2 of l.; Y v Fig -is anenlarged sectionitaken through a iioat chamber forming partoftheapparatus 45 shown in Fig; 1,;'and` Fig. 2l isa ysection taken on line of In the drawings have 'shown ajpreferred .,f lforicfic'rl the invention emb'odiedfinfapparatus "u which comprises'a furnace 'offthe hotair typebut it istobeiunderstood -thatlthe invention 1s not Alimited to :furnaces of this type, nor to lfurnaces in general, as-it maybe ern'- bodied inboil'ers land l other fh'eati'ng devices. 'Inf'this embodiment ofthelinventionfthe fur- -55 na'ceflO compriseslaliire pot 121 karound which a substantially vannular `chamber l2 is `pro,- vid'edvvherein airmaybe heated by bringing it linlcontact 'with substantially fcylindrical i Wall '13 forming Vpart of the l'fire pot. The `i60 iire pot-Tis preferably providediiwitliadoor 15 through Which fa nozzle 16 projects insuch Ymanner that flame' issuing jfrom its flarne oriiiceL Willl follow the inner surface -yofthe cylindricalwall 113, the constructionv beingsuch that in practice theftip ot 'the-flame generally" returns Aand passes .the s fiame4 orifice. The purpose of this constructionwill presi entlyfappear. A

The :nozzle 16 Eifs preferably Supplied' A79 vfuel under' pressureby a conduit 117 'orzthg equivalent, the conduit 17' being preferably jliorined from Arelati-velfy'f enible or seamless drawn metallic tubing; "The conduit 17 -is connected by au'nion'19t@an1elb'oW2O-screwthreaded into a housing l2l mounted `upon a'f-bafseI 22y or the equivalent. A pipe fitting 23 Zis* 'connectedby a pipeA nipple 24 to the inn vterior offthe housing k21l and by a pipe'251to Y the outlet of an air pump 26, a fgauge 27 'so mounted upon the pipe fitting 23 being adapted A'to 'indicate the pr'essure obtaining Withinthe `housing 21. `Disposed adjacent they air'pump 26 lisfan oil p'ump29 having an linletl -pOrtBO connected by va pipe 32 yto-ra 'tank '85 SBadapted j'to hold -a :supply of 'liquidffueh such as crudeoil. The oi-l pun1`p-29has adischarge :port'f which is connected v'by a vpipe B'Gandfaby-pass pipe v38 Withfthe tankLBB. Qbvious'ly, ithere Wvill'be a' ycontinuous flow of 90 oil through -the'pipes 32 and 36 vand 38 when 'tlie-"pump'2'9 is 'in operation. The* pipe 86 'communicates With the interiorfof the Aho'using2'1throu'gh a fbypass pipe 38 and a 'tu- Y, bular" YI'neniber 4Bt) xWhich is screw-threaded 95 into thehousing. I Y Y Any'suitable means may' be l'provided 'for driving the pumps 26 and 29. Thus, I .have shotvl an electric nn'jtor *40 directly fcoupled `te the pampsfthe ,motor 40 being mounted ao upon the base 22 which also supports the pumps.

Referring now to Fig. 3, it will be noted that the housing 21 is substantially air-tight with the exception of the openings provided in it for the elbow 20, the pipe nipple 24 and the tubular member 39. The housing forms a chamber 42 which may be regarded as a float chamber and a mixing chamber, a float 44 disposed within the chamber being adapted to cooperate with other mechanism to maintain the fuel at a substantially constant level within the chamber so that air entering it by way of the pipe 25, the pipe fitting 23 and the nipple 24 may vaporize a definite quantity of oil and deliver it to the nozzle 16. The mechanism cooperating with the float 44 preferably comprises aV lever 45 pivoted intermediate its ends and having one end adapted to engage the float, the other end of the lever being engageable by a valve stem 46 having a needle valve 47 formed at its lower end. The needle valve 47 is adapted to engage a valve seat 48 formed at the upper end of the tubular member 39 and thus controls the flow of oil into the chamber 42. The construction is such that the oil is normally maintained at a level indicated by the dotted line 50.

As shown, the elbow 2() is preferably provided with an extension 52 which projects into the chamber 42. Screw-threaded into the extension 52 is a tube 54 which in this embodiment of the invention projects beneath the oil level 50. The upper end of the tube 54 is aligned with a hole 55 extending transversely through the extension 52. It is readily understood that when the pump 26 forces air into the chamber 42 through the nipple 24, the air passes to the nozzle 16 by way of the hole 55, the elbow 2() and theconduit 17. It is also readily understood that the tube 54 will then function as a jet and a definite quantity of oil will be forced into the elbow 2O with the air entering through hole 55 into the elbow, the oil being vaporized or finely atomized when it mixes with the air.

As mentioned above, the flame which issues from the nozzle 16 when the apparatus is in operation follows the inner surface of the cylindrical wall 13. I preferably provide fire-brick 58 or the equivalent at that point where the flame tends to impinge upon the cylindrical wall 13 so as to prevent that portion of the wall from being burned out. A bottom wall 59 provided in the fire pot 11 is preferably provided with a. central aperture 60 through which the fire pot communicates with the lower portion of the furnace so that air may be drawn therefrom to supply oxygen to the flame. To increase the flow of air through the aperture 60, I prefer to form a plurality of passages 62 in the fire pot, the inner ends of the passages 62 opening directly into the aperture. The passages 62 may be formed by placing bricks 64, or the equivalents for the purpose, upon the bottom wall 59 of the fire pot. The arrangement is such that the draft caused by the flame as it passes the outer ends of the passages 62 will cause air to be drawn from the lower portion of the furnace through the aperture 60 and the passages. The nozzle 16 is preferably adjustably mounted so that the path of the flame can be controlled to some extent. Thus, the door 15 is preferably apertured as at 67 to rotatably journal a pair of blocks 68 and 69 which are secured to eachother by screws 70 or the equivalent. The nozzle 16 projects through aligned holes 71 formed in the blocks 68 and 69, the construction being such that the blocks may be revolved to raise or depress the nozzle.

As best shown in Figs. 1 and 4, I preferably provide an aperture 73 in the door 15 beneath the nozzle 16. Mounted on the outer side of the door and aligned with the aperture 73 is a pilot light 76 which is connected by a pipe 77 to any suitable supply of fuel, means being provided intermediate the pilot light and the pipe 77 to control the flow of fuel to the pilot light. This means may comprise a diaphragm (not shown) and a valve (not shown) mounted within a casing 79 which is connected by a pipe 81 to the aforementioned pipe fitting 23 so that compressed air may flow from the pipe 25 through the fitting 23 and the pipe 81 to the casing 79. The diaphragm (not shown) and the valve (not shown) are so constructed that when a predetermined pressure obtains within the pipe 81 fuel may flow from the pipe 77 to the .pilot light 76, the valve (not shown) being adapted to cut off the supply of fuel when the pressure within the pipe 81 falls below the predetermined value. Aligned with the pilot light 76 is a pilot light 83, which preferably remains normally lighted, the pilot light 83 communicating with the pipe 77 through a by-pass pipe 84. In the event that the pilot light 83 is accidentally extinguished, a thermostat 86 functions to open an electrical circuit (not shown) including the motor 40 so that the apparatus will cease to supply vaporized fuel to the nozzle 16.

The operation of the above described apparatus is substantially as follows: The pilot light 83 normally remains lighted. The apparatus may be set in operation by closing the circuit (not shown) which includes the motor 40 and is adapted to connect it to any suitable source of electrical energy. The motor 40 then drives the pumps 26 and 29 so that the mixing chamber 42 will be continuously supplied with fuel and air, it being obvious that the float 44 will function to keep the oil at a constant level in the mixing chamber. The compressed air entering the mixing chamber does not vaporize any appreciable amount of oil until it passes Vthe chamber.

fuel is forced to How from the tube 54. The

compressed air `vaporizes or finely atomizes this jet of fuel and delivers it to the nozzle 16 where it is rignited by the pilot light 76, the pilot light 76 being lighted by the pilot light 83 the moment the pressure Within the pipe 81 rises to a predetermined value.

In practice, I preferably have the fuel enter the rchamber 42 under a pressure which eX- ceeds the pressure under which the air enters I have found that by feeding the fuel into the chamber at thirty-.five pounds pressure and by feeding the air into the chamber at five pounds pressure, I can obtain etlicient operation of the apparatus but I do not limit myself to these pressures; 'j The proportions of the mixture supplied to the nozzle may be varied to suit any conditions or to suit the desires of the user as the tube 54 may be adjusted in the extension 52 of the elbow 20 to Vary the amount of fuel which the air will force'into the elbow. I find that after the apparatus has been adjusted to deliver a mixture of certain proportions of fuel and air to the nozzle, these proportions will remain constant even though the pressuse at which the air is supplied to the chamber 42 varies. Thus, if the pressure under which the air is supplied falls, the air will force a proportionately smalleramount of fuel from the tube 52, and if the pressure rises, the air will force a proportionately larger amount of fuel from the tube. l Y

Having thus described myinvention, it is obvious that various immaterial modifications may be made in the same withouty departing from the spirit of my invention; hencel I do not wish tobe understood as limiting myself to the exact form, construction, arrangement and combination of parts herein shown and described or uses mentioned.

i' chamber and adjustably carried by the fitting, the upper end of said tube being aligned with said opening `in said tubular fitting, means for supplying liquid fuel under pres sure to the chamber, and means for supply-A ing air under pressure to the chamber.

2. In apparatus of the kind described and i in combination, a burner, an air-tight chamber, a tubular fitting projecting into the chamber from thetop thereof and having an opening in its side wall communicating with the interior of the chamber, means connecting said fitting with said burner, a tube depending from said fitting and adjustably secured thereto, the upper end of said tube being aligned with said opening in said fitting, -means for supplying liquid fuel under pressure to the chamber, and means Vfor supplyinff air under pressure to the chamber.

3. Iii apparat-us of the kind described and in combination, a burner, an air-tight chamber, a" tubular fitting projecting into the chamber from the top thereof and having an opening in its side wall communicating with the interior of the chamber, means connectin said fitting with said burner, a tube depen ing from said fitting and adjustably secured thereto, the upper end of said tube being aligned with said opening in said fitting,

means for supplying liquid fuel under pressure to the chamber, means for supplying air under pressure to the chamber, and means for maintaining the liquid fuel at a constant level in the chamber, said level being below said opening in said fitting.

4. In an apparatus for burning liquid fuel, a chamber, means for supplying liquid fuel to the chamber, means for maintaining the liquid fuel ata constant level in the chamber, means for supplying air under pressure to the chamber, a tube disposed in said chamber and projecting into said liquid fuel in said chamber, and a tubular member into which said tube projects, said tubular member formed with an opening through its wall above said level and forming an outlet for the chamber through which the air passes, said fuel being atomized as its passes said opening.

5. In an apparatus of the kind described, a chamber, a tubular fitting projecting into said chamber and having an opening Vin the side wall thereof, a tubethreadedly engaging said tubular fitting and having an end portion for controlling the size of said opening, means for supplying liquid fuel under pressure to said chamber and maintaining same at a constant level below said opening and above the end of said tube, and means for supplying air under pressure to said chamber. A

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name.

, CHARLES M. COLVIN. 

